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Saturday, June 13, 2015

Jamun Juice

Jamun juice

June is when the jamun/Indian blackberry ripens on my tree. I look forward to this season because the possibilities of using home-grown fruit are endless. Every year I'm adding a new recipe with these gorgeous-looking purple fruits. But one that I make more often than the rest is the juice. It's beautiful and very refreshing.

The berries begin to ripen in the first week of June

The small, creamy fragrant blooms appear in the end of March/early April. It's joy to see myriad pollinators feeding on the blooms. The green fruits first turn to pink and then to a deep purple. The picture above was taken on June 4. But by now many hundreds have been picked and given to near and dear ones. The birds feast on them and fallen berries go into my compost pit.

The first picking

Ingredients for 2-3 glasses depending on how thick you want the juice to be.40-45 jamunSalt to tasteSugar as per tasteLemon juiceMint for the garnishFreshly grated black pepperWater

Choose the ripest of them all as they are the sweetest. Wash them. Place one between your thumb and index finger. Twist your fingers so that the seed comes out easily. Continue with the rest of the berries. Put them in a blender and blitz.Transfer to a jug. Add fine sugar, salt, lemon juice, water and grated pepper. I'm not adding the measurements here as you can check the taste and adjust accordingly. If you like you could also add a dash of toasted and ground cumin seeds.Chill for about an hour. Serve by adding a lemon slice and sprigs of mint in each glass.Enjoy!